Ryan Brennecke / The BulletinPenne Carter in her Sunriver workshop, where she builds and assembles clocks.

SUNRIVER — Penne Carter drew her inspiration from her father when she became a maker of clocks.

A regular swimmer, he always needed to pause and put on his glasses to check the time, Carter said. She decided a large clock on the wall would solve that problem.

And that’s how Proclaimed Purpose was born. Since May 2015, Carter has sold more than 200 of her creations handmade from reclaimed wood, mostly from pallets but also from other sources including old barns, she said. She makes other items, including wall hangings and mirrors saved from demolished homes and framed with the recovered wood. Carter learned much of her craft working with her husband, Greg Carter, in a cabinet and furniture business he owned in Vancouver, Washington. She works from a small, tidy workshop outside their home south of Sunriver.

“I wanted to start a business where I used all recycled and reclaimed products,” she said Monday.

The largest clocks are 35 inches in diameter, the smallest 8 inches. Carter has the process down: Using templates, she can assemble eight to 15 clocks in about three hours.

The wood, which Carter said she selects carefully to avoid using materials treated with chemicals, is sanded smooth and refinished. The clock mechanism, the only item she purchases, is battery-powered. Although she works from templates, she also does custom orders.

“I do custom but I always cringe,” she said, “because it always takes so much time to set up.”

Emily Head, owner of The Nest Design Center in Sisters, a home decor and furnishings store, said she carries Carter’s creations.

“They’re handmade by a local artist, entirely from recycled materials,” she said, “and they’re just appealing to look at. They’re unique.”

Carter and her husband , a computer-aided designer and estimator for custom home builders, returned to Oregon after a 15-year stay in Southern California, she said.

Penne Carter is in business to do more than make a profit, she said. She also conducts workshops for small groups like students, senior citizens and others to give them a taste of their own creativity. She said she found inspiration in California, where she worked as a classroom assistant in special education.

“I’m empowering children, adults, especially women,” Carter said, “by putting power tools in their hands to create something.”

Monday, she had prepared at work stations individual kits for a class of elementary school students to make clocks as a woodworking project. She said she puts 10 percent of the profits from her enterprise into programs like the workshops, an idea she said she picked up from Dale Partridge, of Bend, author of “People Over Profit.”

“She’s a fantastic lady and just had a great attitude,” Head said. “She’s excited about the work that she does and wants to help others succeed.”

Carter said she’s shown some of her creations at craft shows and other events, but most of her sales are online, primarily through Etsy. Social media is essential to her business plan, she said. She has about 2,400 followers on Instagram but said she needs her own website.

“Right now, anybody who wants to build a business has to have a social media presence,” she said. “It’s the only way that actually got me started.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com

Q: Where do you see your business in three to five years?

A: Penne Carter: I feel like it’s going to be several things. I don’t really know how far it will involve clock-making, but it will involve something else. I do believe that I would like to expand more in the workshops. I’m just bubbling with a bunch of stuff and hoping it will all take hold.

Q: What type of wood do you work with?

A: Usually pallets are using cheap wood, but sometimes I’ll find oak or poplar, which has really great grain colors. I can kind of see past the dirt. If I pick up pallets from a carpet and tile place, those pallets may have picked up something down the line. I sand all mine down, they’re not rough, because I want to make sure there are no chemicals (in the wood). I only use heat-treated (wood), not the chemically treated pallets.

Q: Are you turning a profit?

A: A little bit, but I’m turning everything back into the business. I’m either building up the property or building up the business.